The use of digital encoding in telecommunications and the other advances in DSP (digital signal processing), such as in speech synthesis, led to the use of DSP in recording. In 1972 Nippon Columbia began to digitally master recordings, and in the same year the BBC began using pulse code modulation for high-quality sound distribution in radio and television and in its studios began using an 8-track digital audio recorder with error correction. By 1975, it was demonstrated that DSP could improve old recordings (in the first case, by engineer Tom Stockham, historical recordings of Enrico Caruso), and digital audio tapes began to be widely adopted by audio engineers. Music synthesizers incorporating digital recording also began to proliferate. But then the technology took an interesting turn.

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The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has established this site to record the history of digital methods of sound recording and playing, the technology behind compact discs and digital audio tape. A brief historical essay prefaces the site, and a timeline beginning in the late 1950s and running up to the present day details the milestones in the technology. An extensive bibliography of digital recording accompanies the essay and timeline, as does an international list of educational institutions involved with the original (and continuing) research in the field. In addition, there are links on the site to other histories of the compact disc, CD-ROM and recording technology in general. The distinguishing feature of this site is its interest in collecting (via input forms) the personal recollections of those who worked on the research and development of digital audio recording and its associated technologies. Visiting engineers are asked to submit photographs, audio clips and other memorabilia to the site for its historical archive.

The Henry Ford is widely recognized as one of the country's premier historical attractions and has been cited as having "the finest collection assembled documenting the American experience." Each day, thousands of children and adults from down the street and around the world are inspired by their experiences at this wonderful place.

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This site is dedicated to exhibiting the treasures of the Ford Museum and Greenfield Village that include a replica of Thomas Edison's Menlo Park complex. The site is rich in details and images relating to the history of invention in America. Online exhibits include Buckminster Fuller's "Dymaxion House," the 1811 Dickson Steam Engine, the Showroom of Automotive History, biographies of famous inventors, and the first Kodak Camera. These exhibits provide a useful introduction to various inventions. The site also provides information about the archives and collections contained in the research center, most of the materials have not yet been digitized. Collections include: the Ford Motor Company archives, the Edison collection and Edison Institute archives, and the archives of the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company, Stickley Brothers, the D.S. Morgan Company, and the Gebelein Silver Company. Teachers and researchers will find the site useful.

Close to the library are the archives, a small collection of letters, meteorological and astronomical observations, papers and drawings related to the scientific and administrative life of the Bologna Observatory. The earliest documents date back to 1696, when a group of astronomers, lead by Eustachio Manfredi, planned the creation of an astronomical institute and the building of the tower. A reorganization of the archives is in progress, in order to give electronic access to documents, but saving the original structure of the archives itself.

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Listing of the holdings of the Department of Astronomy Archives at the University of Bologna. Site in English, but listings are in Italian.

The Historical Library contains a large and unique collection of rare medical books, medical journals to 1920, pamphlets, prints, and photographs, as well as current works on the history of medicine. The library was founded in 1941 by the donations of the extensive collections of Harvey Cushing, John F. Fulton, and Arnold C. Klebs. Special strengths are the works of Hippocrates, Galen, Vesalius, Boyle, Harvey, and S. Weir Mitchell, and works on anesthesia, and smallpox inoculation and vaccination. The Library owns over 300 medical incunabula.

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A number of online exhibits are made including several on Yale's history with medicine, one on stem cells, and another about the hospitals of New Haven. A catalog of the library's literature is available, and includes several texts available online. The digital library also includes several collections of prints and photographs including 83 nineteenth century paintings by Lam Qua of patients with tumors. There are also images of collections of weights and measures, obstetrical instruments, and medical medals. Comprehensive lists of databases and Internet resources, as well bibliographies are compiled.

The College is a not-for-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to examining the medical sciences and their place in society in order to enhance the understanding of medicine and the roles of physicians in history and in contemporary life.

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Website maintained by The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, an organization began in 1787 to provide education about and improve public health. Contains general information about the College Gallery and the Mutter Museum. Several former exhibits are reproduced online, such as "Emerging Infectious Diseases: Ancient Scourge and Modern Menace" and "When the Patient is the President." A database cataloging their historical OB-GYN instrument collection makes available images and descriptions of over 1,200 tools. The College's library catalog is also online. A link to Philadelphia-related health information is provided as well.

The Forest History Society links the past to the future by identifying, collecting, preserving, interpreting, and disseminating information on the history of interactions between people, forests, and their related resources - timber, water, soil, forage, fish and wildlife, recreation, and scenic or spiritual values. The focus is from a North American perspective within a global context. Established in 1946 and incorporated as a nonprofit educational institution in 1955, the Forest History Society has grown steadily in response to increasing public concern about our forest heritage. It is affiliated with Duke University

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The Forest History Society site can be used to begin research on the history of forestry in the United State and abroad. The site contains a history of the U.S. Forest Service, including photographs, bios, and descriptions of ranger experiences. The site also provides an online, annotated guide to the Forest History Society's archival collections and a description of materials available at the Society's library. There are links to current websites for the organizations with materials in the collection, and a search tool for finding collections at other institutions. Curriculums for school children, a sample of the Society's journal, Environmental History, and descriptions of the organization's current activities are also available. The site is basic, easily navigated, and well maintained.

The manuscript collection contains 208 sets of papers, ranging in quantity from a few sheets of correspondence to many hundreds of items. Individual scientists represented in the collection include significant figures in CSIRO such as Sir David Rivett, Sir Ian Wark and Dr Lloyd Rees, academics such as Professor Frank Fenner and Sir Ernest Titterton and more than 60 other Fellows of the Academy. The collection is not limited to Fellows, however; the papers of Sir Neil Hamilton Fairley, for example, are heavily used by people interested in malarial research. A number of scientific societies have also chosen the Basser Library as the repository for their archives with the Australian Institute of Physics and the Geological Society of Australia providing the largest collections.

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This site gives some brief information about the Australian Academy of Science and provides a description of manuscripts housed in the Academy's Basser Library. The site also contains an alphabetical index of the materials in the manuscript collection, which could be an important planning tool for researchers interested in taking a trip to the Library to do research with the papers first-hand. However, the actual manuscripts have not been made available online, so there is no historical information beyond the descriptions and index.

The Center for the History of Medicine was founded in 1990 and is a unit of the University of Michigan Medical School. The Center’s mission is to conduct original research on the history of medicine; promote dialogue on issues related to health and society in university, medical, and lay communities; and to preserve and make accessible materials related to the history of medicine, biomedical research, public health, nursing, and medical and hospital administration.

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The website for the University of Michigan's Center for the History of Medicine contains several areas of potential interest to researchers. An exhibit on polio contains a narrative about the disease and Dr. Thomas Francis' work against it, as well as many photographs and a bibliography. A listing of the university's historical medical films is available. There is also an interactive timeline regarding the history of the UM Medical School, and several links to related sites.

The Institute Archives serves as the collective memory of Caltech by preserving the papers, documents, artifacts and pictorial materials that tell the school's history, from 1891 to the present. Researchers will also find here a wealth of sources for the history of science and technology worldwide, stretching from the time of Copernicus to today.

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The Institute Archives serves as Caltech's collective memory, preserving the papers, documents, artifacts and pictorial materials that tell the school's history, from 1891 to the present. Holdings include manuscript, photographic, print and audio-visual materials, oral histories, fine art and historic artifacts. Many of the photographs are available in digital format (thumbnail and full size) through the photo archive. The site also includes information about using the physical archive, online versions of archive exhibits and facts about the Cal Tech archive.